Lost
by junodog
Summary: Crossover with XMen: Edward Elric finds himself walking on a deserted road, just before mysteriously losing his memory. mangabased.
1. Chapter 1

Yeah, another one of my crossover fanfics. I'm not so sure about this one, though. It's definitely not my best work. I mean, it's okay, just not incredibly great. Just so ya know.

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_Lost. Lost. I'm definitely lost. Where the hell am I? What's with this road? Why does it have lines on it? Is it for directing traffic? How did I even end up here? Where's my brother? Al? Where are you? Al?_

These were the thoughts that were going through Ed's mind as he walked down the road. He had no idea how he had gotten here, all he knew was that he had been in the woods, and when he came out, there was nothing familiar anywhere. Just this road. He figured it had to lead somewhere, so he walked down it.

To his left was a river. Ed listened to the sounds it made as he walked. After a while, he heard a new sound along with it. This sound was more human. A human sound, one that Ed was plenty familiar with. He headed for the source, a girl about his age sitting by the river. Tears were streaming down her face.

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_I don't want to be like this. That's the only thought in my head. I don't want to be different. I want to be normal. I want to go home and live with my parents. I don't want to be someplace where they emphasize that weird side of me. Why do they care so much about that? My parents love me, so why did they send me away? Do they not like being around me because I'm different? I don't want to be like this._

_Maybe that's why I ran away. I didn't want to accept that I'm different._

She looked up at the boy standing behind her. He wasn't anybody she knew, although she'd only been at that school for a couple of days.

"Why are you crying?" he asked. He was friendly.

"You're not going to make me go back, are you?"

"Go back where?"

"Wait, you're not from that place?"

"What place?"

She tried to explain the idea of Xavier's school. The boy looked concerned, and after a while, he sat down beside her.

"Sounds nice."

"Mm-hmm."

"Why'd you run away?"

"I don't like being different. I'd rather act like I'm normal so I can stay with my friends and family. I hate being here."

"So you're just running away? Is your home nearby?"

"Well, no, it's really far away."

"Isn't it dangerous being out here on your own?"

"I can take care of myself."

The boy was quiet for a while. Then, he pulled up his right sleeve. She gasped as she saw the metal.

"You're different too?"

"I guess you could say that. I lost my arm using my abilities. This is just a replacement."

"What can you do?"

"I'm an alchemist."

"So you can make gold and stuff?"

"I could, but where I'm from, it's illegal to transmute gold."

"Oh. Can I see you use alchemy?"

"Sure." The boy clapped his hands together and placed them on the ground. There was a flash of light, and a small horse appeared. He picked it up and handed it to her.

"You know, I'm often in danger because of what I can do. I don't really know anything about this place, but I bet it's the same for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Personally, I don't care if you're different. You're still a person. But, not everybody's like that. Some people might hate you for what you can do. This is just a guess, but I think your parents sent you away so that you'd be able to grow up without having to deal with those people. You can be around people who respect you for who you are."

"But, people like me for who I am back home."

"Does everybody know about your abilities?"

"Well, no, but… I guess you're right. I'm afraid to tell them because some of them hate mutants."

The boy stood up. "See? Your parents didn't send you away to get rid of you. They just want you to be happy."

She stood up too. "You're right."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going back. I don't want to stay at that school, but I can figure things out there better than I can out here. Thank you, umm…"

"My name's Edward Elric. You can just call me Ed, though."

"Thank you, Ed."

They began walking up the slope back to the road. Halfway up, Ed lost his footing and fell backwards. She was about to go down and help him when she heard someone calling her name.

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_Where are you? Why did you run away? Come on, it shouldn't be this hard to find a runaway. He said she's around here, but where? Oh, I see you. Who is that with you? You shouldn't talk to strangers._

Storm got out of the car as the two began climbing back up to the road. She was about to call out when the boy tripped and fell. Definitely not graceful. She concentrated on helping her student, figuring the boy could get up on his own. He didn't, though. Scott went down to see what was up while Storm talked to the girl.

"Looks like he hit his head."

"Is it bad?"

"No blood, but… Hey, come check this out."

"Why don't you bring him up here?"

"Right." Scott carried the unconscious teenager up the hill and set him down next to the car. He pointed to the kid's right hand, which was made of metal. "Look at that."

"So, he's a mutant?"

"Unless there's such a thing as metal prosthetics."

"He said he was an alchemist. He even made something with alchemy."

Storm took the small horse the girl was holding out. The color matched the rocks down by the river, and it definitely looked brand new. She looked at the boy again. "He made this?"

"Uh-huh. He clapped his hands together and put them on the ground, and there was this flash of light, and then the horsey appeared."

"Really?" The two adults exchanged glances. What would they do with him? It's not like leaving him in the middle of nowhere was an option. On the other hand, though, they didn't know anything about him. He could easily be an enemy.

Eventually they decided to bring him back to the school. Even if he were an enemy, they could just keep an eye on him. Scott picked the kid up and placed him in the car.

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_Owwww, my head hurts… Is it because I hit it so hard? Wait, how did I end up here? Where is here? Where's Al? Al? Where are you? No, he's not here. I'm alone. No, not alone. There's someone in here with me. It's not him, though._

_Him… Who am I talking about? I just had it, but now I don't remember. Don't remember… What about my family? I don't remember any of their faces. None of their faces… and who am I? Why can't I remember even that? I know I have a name, but what is it?_

He sat up and rubbed his head. As he did this, a man walked over to him. He looked sort of wolfish.

"Hey, Ed. You okay?"

_Ed… so that's my name… Ed… Edward… Elric… Edward Elric? Is that my name? It sounds right to me. But how does he know it? Have I met him before? Of course, he doesn't look familiar…_

"I'm fine now."

"Where are you from?"

Ed stared at the bed. "I don't remember."

"What do you mean, you don't remember?"

"I don't remember anything."

"Nothing at all?"

"No."

"Not even how you got that arm?"

Ed looked at his right arm. _That's right, I lost my arm, but someone replaced it. Who, though? And why do I get the feeling that it was painful? Argh, this is driving me crazy!_

"No. Not a clue."

"Jeez. That's gonna be a problem."

_Gee, ya think?_

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"He doesn't remember anything?"

"No, not really. All he really knows is his name."

"But nothing else?"

"Nope."

"He must have hit his head pretty hard back there."

"What a klutz."

"Oh, like you've never tripped before. Give the kid a break, Scott. He must feel terrible," Storm said.

The three of them were standing outside, trying to come up with a reason for Ed's sudden appearance. It wasn't strange to find someone like him, but there was something strange about him. It was as if he didn't belong on this world.

Storm had assigned Rogue to the task of explaining everything to Ed, and showing him around. It would be easier if he were with someone his own age. Besides, they wouldn't be able to do anything about the lost memory problem until someone with more knowledge in that area was around, and Professor Xavier and Jean Grey returned from their trip. Ed would just have to wait until then.

"So, we're sure he's a mutant?" Logan asked.

"Have you ever seen an arm like that before? Even if it's new technology, there's still the fact that he could be an alchemist. Even if it were nothing like being a mutant, if someone who was anti-mutant found him, they wouldn't care about that difference."

"So, assuming he _is_ an alchemist, would he remember how to use it? I mean, if he doesn't remember anything…"

"There's still the fact that part of his body is made of metal. Since nobody here's heard of that kind of technology, it's doubtful that the rest of the world's heard of it."

"So… I guess we're just going to assume he is a mutant until the Professor gets back?"

"Yep."

"Good thing he's willing to believe that himself."

"No, I don't think it's that he's willing to believe he's a mutant, I think it's more that he doesn't care about the difference between mutants and humans."

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tee hee Ed the mutant.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, I'm impressed. People actually like this story… Well, actually, I'm fine with the first part; it's this section where it starts to get a little less good… uh… yeah…

Anyhow, here's part two. Enjoy.

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Ed walked down a hallway behind Rogue. She was giving him a tour, but every ten feet she stopped to ask him a question he didn't know the answer to. Luckily someone else joined them, so for a while, Ed didn't have to say anything. He just listened to them talking about their powers.

He could tell Rogue didn't like her powers very much. He didn't blame her, either. It sounded lonely. For some reason, that loneliness felt very familiar.

They walked down a flight of stairs. For some reason, Ed's leg wasn't working right, and he lost his footing. This time he landed flat on his face.

Bobby came running up and held out his hand. He was laughing, and his laughter grew louder as Ed fell over again. "Man, you really are a klutz."

Ed sat on the stairs. "Shut up. My leg isn't working right."

"Haven't heard that excuse before."

"Well, how many people do you know who have legs like this?" Ed asked as he pulled up his pant leg. Something was stuck in the knee joint.

"So, wait, you lost your arm _and_ leg?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah. Don't remember how, though."

"So, you don't even remember your family?"

"I… I know I have a brother, but I don't remember what he looks like. All I can think of is a suit of armor, and I doubt that's right."

"What about your mom and dad? Can you think of them at all?"

"No, but I think I hate my dad."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because every time I think about him, the word 'bastard' comes up in my mind."

"Jeez, he must have done something major to piss you off if you still hate him without remembering anything about him."

"Heh, you're right there. I wish I remembered what it was, though."

"Don't worry, you'll remember soon."

"Yeah…"

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Ed spent the next day hanging out with Scott. It was a Saturday, and Scott was getting ready to wash one of the cars.

"So, remember anything yet?"

"No, not really."

Scott paused and tossed something to Ed. "We found this when we found you. Does it bring back any memories?"

Ed looked at the object in his hands. It was a silver watch with a chain. The design on it was a dragon and a six-point star.

_This… This is important to me, somehow… I think I wrote something on the inside, something I didn't want to forget. What was it? What did I want to remember so badly? I sure don't remember now. Damn, this sucks. I wish I could open this. Wait… flames… something's burning… and my brother… he's with me… What is it that's burning, though? Oh, it's…_

"One."

"Huh? One what?"

"One memory. The day our house was burned down."

"Burned down? How'd that happen?"

"I don't know, but I think it was done on purpose, or at least, I didn't mind it being burned."

"Why's that?"

"I don't remember. All I remember is a fire."

"Jeez. Didn't you have any happy moments as a kid?"

"Probably. Don't remember. Hey, why are you always wearing sunglasses?"

"Because otherwise I'd go around burning shit with my eyes."

"That's your power?"

"Yep. You're an alchemist, right?"

"Dunno. Don't remember."_ Seems right, though. Wish I could remember…_

"You definitely don't look like an alchemist."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're about two feet too short."

Scott only barely avoided a metal fist landing on his face. "Whoa, jeez! I was kidding!"

"I'M NOT THAT SHORT!"

"Okay, okay, I won't call you short again. Looks like someone's a little sensitive about his height. Are you always like this?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"Oh, right."

And, of course, this continued on, until the two of them were sick of dealing with each other.

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"Hey, Logan! You doing anything important today?"

"No, why?"

"You're watching the kid."

"Why me?"

"Because he's currently putting all his energy into driving me insane. Plus I have something else I need to do."

Logan watched in shock as Scott ran off. _Driving him insane…? What the heck is this kid like?_ (Seeing as he only ever talked to Ed for like two seconds) He went over to Ed's room and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, he entered the room.

Ed was still asleep. _Figures. I mean, he's still a kid…_ Logan debated between waking Ed up and just leaving him. He only made a decision when he heard Ed mutter, "Stupid bastard." Just whom was he calling a bastard?

Unfortunately, Logan never found out. When Ed woke up, he didn't remember his dream at all. "But, whoever it was reminds me of Scott."

"Yeah, I can see that. So, I guess there isn't much to do around here right now, so how about some TV?"

"TV?"

"You don't remember what TV is?"

"No, but for some reason, I don't think I've ever heard of it before."

"What, you don't have television where you're from?"

"Don't think so."

"Well, what kind of technology do you have?"

"What, like cars and stuff?"

"Yeah. You have cars where you're from, right?"

"Well, yeah. We have phones, too."

"But no TV."

"No. What is TV anyway?"

"It's like moving pictures."

"Oh, like movies."

"Yeah. So, wait, you have movies?"

"Yep."

"Are you from like the early 20th century or something?"

"Don't remember."

"How do you remember the technology from where you're from but not the year?"

"How the hell should I know? These memories just pop up out of nowhere."

They sat in the room for a while, neither speaking. Finally, Logan stood up. "They'll come back eventually."

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After a week or so, Professor Xavier returned to the school. By this time he'd heard about the alchemist who'd lost his memory and was waiting to meet him.

Ed sat quietly in a chair facing the Professor. He didn't really know what to say. Finally, the silence was broken, but not by Ed.

"It shouldn't be too hard to bring back your memories. After all, your personality is still intact."

"Really?"

"Yes. If you want, I'll restore them now."

Ed just nodded. Since he was talking to someone who could supposedly read minds, there was a pretty good chance that said person would see all of his memories, but that wasn't a big deal to Ed. He just wanted to remember his brother.

Dunno how this whole deal works

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_What… What is this? What's going on? Mom? Al? Are these really my memories? What is that thing? Mom… that… that's what Al and I made with human transmutation… And this blood… is it mine? Yes, it is my blood. I lost my leg because of this failure._

_I see a shadow over there. Whose is it? I'm walking toward it, but it's still dark. Wait… there's a face, with red eyes, and an x-shaped scar… It's Scar… Why is he here? And what's with that man with the weird-looking dog? Tucker and… Nina?_

_Al… I'm sorry I forgot you… But the armor, that's your body now, isn't it? That's right, your body's still at the doors, in that terrible state. I'm sorry… I'm really sorry…_

_I won't forget you ever again…_

Ed could hear something humming (like machine humming). He wanted to open his eyes, but he was still exhausted for some reason, so he just lay there, waiting for something to happen. It sounded like he was alone. Finally, he opened his eyes.

He was in his room, and the humming came from the other side of the door. Ed waited for a moment before sitting up. His head ached, but he now knew who he was, even if he was still a little confused. Not everything was in order yet, so only half of his memories made sense. It was aggravating, but better than how it had been before.

Ed sat on the bed for a while, trying to figure everything out. Now that he had his memory back, there was the question of how to find his brother. There was also the fact that he definitely wasn't in Amestris anymore, and that the technology seemed much more advanced than it was back home. Plus he needed to find his pants. They weren't anywhere to be found, even though Ed's shirt was folded neatly on a nearby chair.

Ed sighed, and pulled on his shirt. At least he was wearing his shorts, and his shirt smelled nice. It must have been washed. But still, he wanted to find his pants.

Just then there was a knock on the door, and Bobby came in. He sat down on the bed next to Ed.

"I was beginning to think you'd be sleeping through the winter. You okay?"

"Yeah. Hey, do you know where my pants are?"

"I think they're being washed."

"Great."

"Professor Xavier said he wanted to talk to you when you woke up."

"About what?"

"Well, you're the first alchemist to ever show up around here. In fact, almost everyone's decided that alchemy's just some kind of magic from the dark ages."

"The dark ages?"

"Yeah, you know, with castles and knights and disease and stuff?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"Okay, let's go."

"Wait, I have to go outside like this?"

"What? You have shorts on. That's good enough."

"But still…"

"Come on, nobody's going to care."

Ed unwillingly followed Bobby out of the room. Everyone they passed stared at Ed, and it was only when Ed remembered that automail was unheard of in this world that he realized nobody really did care. It still didn't prevent him from feeling like an idiot.


	3. Chapter 3

YAY, UPDATE!!!!!!! Even though I have no inspiration for writing the next chapter… oh well, someday…

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Ed left the next day. He was going with Logan to see if they could find Al, who was definitely in this world, according to Professor Xavier. They drove to where Ed had been found almost two weeks earlier, and Ed got out of the car.

"So, you got out of that forest, and walked down the road to about here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if your brother came this way, we would've found him by now, so maybe he went the other way."

"Yeah, but how far would he have gone? I mean, it's not like he has to stop or anything, but he has to have run into someone by now, and it's not like he can hide easily."

"Sorta like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean you stick out. Not many guys run around with braided hair and red trench coats."

"Oh." Ed had thought for sure that Logan was going to comment on his height.

"Okay, let's get going. We've got a long way to go."

They walked back to the car and drove to where Ed had first come out of the woods, or a point close to that. Logan stopped the car and got out.

"Think there's a chance that he's still somewhere in there?"

"Could be, but I don't think so."

"Might as well look, though, right?"

"Whatever." Ed led the way through the trees, keeping an eye out for signs of his brother. After a couple of minutes, he saw tracks on the ground. They definitely belonged to Alphonse. Ed followed the tracks to a small clearing. There, on the other side, were two people. Judging on Logan's reaction, they weren't people Ed wanted to know.

"Well, well, look who it is," said one of them, an older man with a ridiculous helmet. He waved his hand, and Ed saw Logan fly into a bush. Ed looked back at the man, who was staring intently at him. Ed decided to attack. He clapped his hands together and formed a blade on his right hand. Before he even got close to the man, however, Ed felt his arm abruptly stop. He tried to pull it back, but he didn't have any luck. He was stuck.

"Why, hello, there, young man. What's your name?"

Ed glared at the man. "Edward Elric. I'm also known as the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Because of your metal limbs?"

"Yeah, probably." Ed watched as the man walked around him. He felt ridiculous again. "Who are you?"

"A lot of people know me as Magneto. I have power over all metal. So, the armor we found the other day, that's your brother in there?"

"Yes, it is. Where is he?"

"He's nearby. I'd like to know a few things, though."

"Like what?"

"Like how you managed to turn your brother into a suit of armor."

"I didn't turn him into a suit of armor. He lost his body and I bonded his soul so that he wouldn't disappear forever. I hate that he's like that."

After getting rid of the blade, Magneto forced Ed's hand to his throat. "Why would you hate it? Because it makes him different? You shouldn't think of that as a disadvantage."

Ed tried to pull his arm away, but it was stuck there. He struggled in vain to move it as Magneto watched in amusement.

"It seems your body's turned against you."

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_Damn it, I can't move it! Why can't I? What is this freak doing to me? I can't breathe… can't… I have to do something. I can't die here! How… I have to destroy it… even though it'll mean I won't have an arm, it's better than flat-out dying._

Ed placed his hands together as well as he could and held onto his right arm. There was a flash of light, and the automail shattered into a million pieces. Ed dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

Magneto walked up to him. "That was a bold move, boy. I'm impressed. But what about your brother? Are you afraid because of what people would think of him?"

"I don't… give a damn… about what other people think." Ed paused for a moment. "Plenty of people know about what happened… and they all… respect him… for who he is."

"Then why do you hate what you did to him?"

Ed was still on all fours, only he wasn't because he was missing an arm, but you know. Tears came to his eyes as he thought of his brother, all the nights that Al had spent alone, all the meals he'd missed out on because he couldn't eat.

"There's nothing good about that body. It's just empty… and cold. Besides, his real body… it's…"

Ed didn't get to finish that sentence, as Logan regained consciousness at this point in time and saw Ed on the ground. "Ed!" he shouted, and ran towards the two. Before he got close, though, Logan stopped. Ed looked over at him. It was almost as if he couldn't move.

"How…" Ed didn't get to finish that sentence either. He was going to say, "How does that work?" but the person accompanying Magneto, a woman covered in what looked like blue scales, brought a foot into Ed's stomach. Ed flew a couple of feet and hit his head on a rock. He wanted desperately to help Logan, but he could barely move. He couldn't even struggle as the woman tied his arm against his body and picked him up.

"I'll finish up here," Ed heard Magneto say. There was more, but Ed was fading fast. After another moment, everything was black.

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When Ed woke up, he was on his back on a cold metal table. He tried to move, but his arms and legs were secured to the table. There was also a restraint across his chest, and it felt cold against his skin.

After a moment, Ed realized something. _Both_ of his arms were secured. That meant someone had reattached his right arm. Ed tried to make sense of that, because he'd completely destroyed his arm, and he doubted that Winry had somehow found her way into this world.

Ed tried to pick up his head to be sure his arm was really there. It was, but moving his head caused a lot of pain. He put his head back down, and was startled by what he saw next. Someone was staring down at him. Ed recognized her as the woman from earlier.

"So, you're finally awake." Ed tried to reply, but she put a hand over his mouth. "Now's not the time for you to be talking."

Ed glared at her. In return, she smiled and, to Ed's surprise, turned into someone familiar. Ed looked in shock at his brother's face. After a moment, the fake Al pulled away his/her hand.

"How do you know what he looks like?" Ed asked.

"I saw a picture," she replied, turning back into her normal self. "Your brother had a picture of your family hidden inside that armor. What I'd like to know is how you're familiar with this power."

"I know someone who can do that, and he's as big of an asshole as you are."

"Hey, hey, you shouldn't be using that kind of language. What would your mother think?" She changed forms again, only this time she ended up looking like Trisha Elric. That pissed Ed off.

"My mom's dead, you bitch!" he shouted. In return, the woman turned back and struck Ed on the face.

"Call me Mystique. And don't ever call me a bitch again."

"Yeah, well, don't ever turn into my mom again."

"You're awfully touchy about something like that, even if she is dead."

Ed was about to respond when Mystique put her hand over his mouth again. Ed noticed that she was looking elsewhere, and tried to see what she was looking at. It was Magneto. He was standing right next to Ed. Ed tried to figure out how he had gotten there so fast.

"Now, now, calm down, Fullmetal Alchemist. Shouting will get you nowhere."

As much as Ed hated to admit it, Magneto was right. Ed was just making himself look bad. He managed to control his feelings, and Mystique pulled her hand away. After a moment, Magneto lifted the restraints on Ed's upper body, allowing him to sit up.

"What do you want with me?" Ed asked, still fuming about what Mystique had done.

"Nothing much, I'm just interested in alchemy now. It seems much more powerful than most mutant powers."

"So you want to use that power."

"Only if you're willing to help us."

"Why would I want to help you?"

"Do you know what humans have been doing to mutants lately? There have been countless attempts to get rid of us. They see us as a threat."

"So you're going to fight against them? Won't that just cause more problems?"

"You don't seem to understand how terrible it's been. Have you ever had somebody come after your life because of your abilities?"

Ed was silent for a while. "Yes, but only because I work as a state alchemist, and state alchemists were the ones responsible for the deaths of many innocent people."

"But you didn't play a part in that, did you?"

"No. That was before I joined."

"See? You've experienced this prejudice before."

"Not all of his people are prejudiced, though."

"It's the same with humans and mutants. We're just trying to do something about the ones who are prejudiced."

Ed could tell he was lying. "Do something about them? You mean like killing them?"

"I never said anything like that. So, will you help us?"

"What happens if I say no?"

"Then you'll be kept out of the way until this whole ordeal is dealt with."

Ed looked down at his hands. "I'll think about it."

"Good. Don't forget, though. If you agree and change your mind halfway through, there will be consequences."

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Back at wherever everyone else was at, a discussion about Ed was going on. It was painfully obvious that Ed wouldn't be able to get away on his own, since part of him was made of metal, after all. What made things worse is that Professor Xavier understood just how powerful the Fullmetal Alchemist was. If Ed were forced to use that power in the wrong way, the results would be disastrous.

Eventually it was decided that Storm and Cyclops would go after him, even though he didn't like Ed much. I don't know why they picked them, but they did, so live with it.

They set out early the next evening. It was a long way to where Ed had been taken, so they'd be on the road until late that night. Eventually Storm brought up the events of the day before Ed left. They had both been in the room when he had talked about his past.

"So, if Magneto has both of them, won't that make it easier to control them?"

"You mean like threatening one of them? Yeah, probably."

"It was a really bad idea to let him go out with Logan."

"Well, there's no way we could have known about Magneto being there." (I don't care if this is a plot hole. Just imagine that it isn't)

"Even so, we knew he was planning something. Sending two people whose powers are based on metal in their bodies out there on their own, with Magneto on the loose, was a big mistake."

"But Ed can use things other than metal. Remember that horse?"

"That's right. I wonder if Magneto knows that."

"If he doesn't, then this'll be a lot easier."


	4. Chapter 4

IT'S THE SHORTEST CHAPTER IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!! But I am writing this story again, so you can (maybe) expect more soon. Enjoy.

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In fact, Magneto didn't have a clue about Ed's real potential. He had assumed that Fullmetal came from Ed's automail and the ability to transmute metal. So, after Ed had refused to help, he had locked Ed into a room made of stone. The stone was harder than Ed's steel limbs, so that was supposed to prevent him from getting away. There was also the fact that Al was in a similar room nearby. Ed had briefly seen his brother the day before.

He stared at the ceiling as he tried to come up with a plan. There was someone just outside the door, and the door had a small window in it, so any light from transmuting would be seen, and Ed was pretty sure the guy had tranquilizers or something along those lines. Also, if Ed kept his back turned to the door, he'd arouse suspicion, so he was stuck for the moment.

After a while, Ed fell asleep. He dreamed of puppies and snakes on planes, which was odd, because Ed barely even knew what a plane was. Those poor puppies.

He woke up to a loud crash. Something big was going on in the hallway. Ed got up and went to look. There, standing right outside his door, were two familiar mutants.

"How…" Ed began.

"Don't worry about that. We have to get you out of here. Is your brother nearby?"

"Um, yeah, he's over there, should I get him out?"

"Yeah, but hurry. We don't have much time before someone else gets here."

By the time Storm had finished that sentence, Ed had already clapped his hands and transmuted the wall that separated him from his brother. Al seemed to know exactly what was going on and they were almost out of the place when someone stopped them. He looked like he was about Ed's age.

"Oh, look, it's Pyro," Scott said with some disdain in his voice.

Ed was behind Scott and Al with Storm. He looked at the kid blocking their way, and looked back at Storm.

"Who is he?" Ed asked.

"He used to be a student at the school. Once there's a flame in the air, he can do whatever he wants with it."

_Controlling flames? Sounds familiar…_ Ed clapped his hands together and looked back at Storm.

"Is there anything underneath us?"

"Yeah, we're on the second floor of a building. Why?"

Before Ed could say what he had in mind, a blast of flames came their way. Al stepped in front of the others to block it, and Ed used this opportunity to place his hands on the floor. Immediately there was a flash of light, and the floor underneath Pyro dissolved instantly. Needless to say, that problem was solved fairly quickly.

Ed fixed the floor to prevent another attack, and they continued on their way out. Once they had driven over to the next state, Scott stopped the car.

"Okay, before we go any further, I want to know something."

"What?" Ed asked, his arms folded and a not so happy look on his face.

"What did they want with you?"

Ed thought about it for a moment. "Pretty much what every bastard from our world has kept me alive for."

"Alchemy," Storm muttered.

"Yeah, I guess the ability to make whatever you want would be something to want," Scott said as they began to drive again.

"Not everything," Ed replied.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter much anyway."

"It matters to us. If you could make everything with alchemy…" Ed paused. When he spoke again, his voice was barely audible. "Our lives would have been a lot different from how they are now."

There was a long, awkward silence in the car. Finally, Scott spoke up. "Okay, sorry. Forget I said anything."

Ed leaned against the car door, staring out the window. After a while, Storm began talking to Al, mostly to break the tense silence in the car. They drove through the night, not stopping again until they arrived back at the school.

--------------

"So what are you going to do now?" Bobby asked as he sat down next to Ed and Al. The brothers were looking out across the huge lawn at the mutants milling around and doing random crap.

"I don't know," Ed replied, not really moving his head.

"We've been trying to figure out a way to get home, but so far we haven't come up with anything."

"Then just stay here for a while. I don't know about the rest of the school, but it's been interesting to have someone like you around. Besides, it's not like there's anywhere else you can go."

"What makes you say that?" Ed asked.

"You haven't really been around the regular humans here, so it makes sense that you wouldn't know, but… it's not like mutants can go anywhere without some form of hatred coming from the people around them. It's been hard for us."

"I get it. You don't fit into the standards of the 'real' world and everyone hates you for it." Ed and Al exchanged glances for a moment. "Seems that problems like that are everywhere."

"So you have problems like that in your world?"

Ed nodded. "We do. There's a race of people in our country, called the Ishbalans, who believe alchemy is a sin against their god Ishbala. The differences were so extreme that after a select incident, a civil war broke out." Ed pulled his knees up to his chest. "That war affected everybody in our country, and ended with a massacre of the Ishbalan people."

"Wait, they just killed them off?"

"That's right. There are survivors, but the majority of the people were killed."

"Damn, that's rough," Logan said as he lit a cigarette. Ed looked back at him for a moment before turning back to his original position.

"You have no idea."

-----------------

Okay, I'm gonna watch the Xmen movie(s) again and see if that inspires me. Maybe… If I have time…


	5. april fool's

YES AN UPDATE!!!!!!! WHOOOOOO!!!

---------------

I. _E. coli_ O157:H7 should not be affecting nearly as many Americans as it has been.

II. Arguments for

A. Living without food is impossible, and the majority of people in the US eat meat.

B. While it is possible to cook your own food, many people are unable to do so and depend on the competence of others. "Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the USDA chose meat suppliers for its National School Lunch Program on the basis of the lowest price, without imposing additional food safety requirements." Pg. 218

C. E. Coli is potentially fatal. To not give a warning is almost the same as poisoning someone.

D. Contamination is preventable. " "I could always tell the line speed," a former Monfort nurse told me, "by the number of people with lacerations coming into my office." Pg. 174

E. There were 500,000 deaths due to E. Coli

F. Lee Harding

III. Arguments against

A. Prevention is expensive for the plants; the price of meat would rise.

B. It is the buyer's responsibility to educate him/herself about E. Coli.

C. As long as meat is cooked thoroughly, it is easy to avoid sickness.

D. Become a vegetarian.

---------------

APRIL FOOL'S!!!!!!! Ha, I gotcha, didn't I?


	6. UPDATE!

UPDATE!

Sorry for going a few months without updating this, but this is to let you know that I haven't dropped this story, in fact, I'm hoping to get the next chapter up by the end of the month. Sadly enough, however, I don't have a definite plotline at the moment, so that's what's been causing the delays, along with the fact that I _really_ don't want to write some parts of this chapter and I'm trying very hard to pull a FMA/LotR with this fic.

Meaning I'm not going to do "blah blah blah dramatic stuffs"

So yeah, I'm trying to get it done, so please don't hate me. Especially since that April Fool's thing was the first time I ever managed to pull a successful prank on someone. Even when I got revenge on my uncle Bob for telling the waiters it was my birthday when it wasn't at this restaurant where they sing and have a giant candelabra and all this stuff, he knew that we were going to do the same thing to him when we kept smiling every time someone else had a birthday celebration. So yeah. This time made me feel very proud of myself for actually fooling people. And the basic idea of this is that I haven't forgotten about this fic, so don't give up hope.


	7. Chapter 5

Ugh… an update after… a few months. Yeah, I suck at updates, but this time I have an excuse! I couldn't think of anything to write… Yeah, this is one of those stories where I have vague ideas for the plotline, but no clue as to how to lead up to those events. So, if anyone has any reasonable suggestions for plotline, I won't necessarily use what you say exactly, but it'll help me get ideas…

-----------------

_Ugh… I must have slept wrong last night, I can't feel my arm at all… Oh, wait, it's not there… Wait, why is my arm gone? Why is this metal thing here instead? Al… what happened to me? What happened to you? Who… who am I? I know my name, and I know my brother, but what about everything else? Why is it gone…?_

Ed closed his eyes again and gripped his head as he lay on his side in the unfamiliar bed. He wanted to wake up, he wished he could just wake up and realize it was a dream and remember everything again. But somehow, he knew this wasn't a dream. He really didn't know who he was. All he has was a name. Two names, actually, and a brother who might be able to tell him what was going on…

"Brother? Are you okay?"

Ed sighed and let go of his head before sitting up so that he could face his brother. "I feel fine, Al…"

"Then what's wrong?"

Ed swung his legs over the side of the bed, noting that his left one seemed to be the same as his right arm. Apparently he had fallen asleep in his clothes the night before.

"Al, I…" Ed trailed off. How could he tell his brother that he didn't remember anything? Somehow, the idea of it made Ed feel terrible.

There was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal a man with scruffy hair. He looked familiar, but Ed didn't know why. Al seemed to trust him, though, so Ed decided he didn't mean them any harm. Besides, he was polite enough to knock…

"Hey, guys. You ready for today?"

Al nodded, but Ed was confused. "What's today?"

The man blinked and raised an eyebrow at Ed. "We're going to try and find a way to get you back home. Don't you remember?"

Ed shook his head. "No."

Al and the man exchanged glances, and Ed began to feel like him losing his memories wasn't just a one-time thing. "Brother," Al began in a cautious voice. "Do you remember where we are?"

Ed shook his head.

"What about the reason why I'm like this?" Al asked, beating a metal hand on the armor.

Ed bit his lip and glanced nervously at the man before slowly shaking his head. "Sorry, Al. I don't remember anything."

Ed didn't miss the nervous glance that Al and the other man shared. Somehow, he got the feelings whatever was wrong with him was worse than just a case of amnesia.

--------------

"He lost it again?" Storm asked

"Yep," Logan replied. After finding out that Ed had amnesia for the second time since arriving, he and Al had taken the young alchemist to Professor Xavier's office. Logan was standing outside in the hallway, telling Storm what had happened.

"What happened?"

"Al didn't see anything unusual last night, so I don't think we can answer that just yet. I don't think it's as bad this time, though."

"What makes you say that?"

"He remembers his brother. He didn't last time, but now he does."

"But he doesn't remember anything else?"

Logan sighed. "Nope. He just gave me a blank stare when I went into their room this morning. He didn't recognize me at all."

"Or maybe he just didn't want to see you?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Oh, real funny. No, Al tested him on just about everything he could think of to make sure he really didn't remember. At least he remembers that he doesn't like people making fun of his height…"

"You sure that's a good thing?" Storm asked, a vague smirk on her face.

Logan laughed and leaned against the wall. "Well, if his personality's intact, then doesn't mean he has a better chance of remembering?"

"Well, yeah, but the fact that this is happening in the first place… Let's just hope the professor knows what's going on. I think Ed's had enough problems for a while."

Just then, the door to the office opened, and the brothers came out, followed by Prof. Xavier. He looked up at Storm with a serious face.

"Would you find Jean and come downstairs? This is a bigger problem than I had anticipated."

Storm nodded and walked off. Ed kept his eyes lowered, and Al was resting a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"Well, let's head down, shall we?"

---------------

Ed stared in awe at the large metal hallway they were walking through. Even though he didn't remember anything about himself, he knew that he had definitely never seen anything like this. It seemed very futuristic to him.

They stopped in front of a metal door, which opened in seconds and revealed something that looked like a medical room. Ed cautiously followed the others inside and managed not to jump when the door closed behind him.

At the professor's instruction, Ed lay down on a weird table-looking thingy and waited for someone else to arrive. He felt so awkward…

"Relax, Edward. You're going to be fine."

Ed didn't believe that, but he didn't want to be rude by saying so. Instead, he stared at the ceiling, occasionally glancing over at his brother, trying desperately to remember.

Eventually, someone else came into the room, a woman whom Ed presumed was Dr. Jean Grey. She spoke quietly with Professor Xavier for a while before the two of them began doing random tests. After a while, they let him sit up, and he waited quietly for an explanation.

"Well, Edward," the professor began. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your mind that would cause this."

Ed exchanged a nervous glance with his brother. "Then…"

"There's something else that's responsible. At the moment, however, I can't say what it is."

"…I see." Ed felt he did a good job of hiding his disappointment. "So… what now?"

"We'll have to see if we can find the cause of this. I can help you retrieve your memories for the time being, but I can't guarantee that this won't happen again. It would be best if you stayed here until we know the cause of all this."

Ed nodded. Even though he knew there was something else he needed to do, he wouldn't be able to do it unless he remembered who he was, and he had a feeling Al agreed with him.

-------------

_So that's why I remembered Al through all this… I promised I wouldn't forget him ever again…_

Ed slowly opened his eyes. The first time he'd gone through this hadn't been too big of a problem, since he'd already been remembering details about his life, but this time…

"Brother?"

Ed looked up and smiled at Al. "Hey."

"Do you remember now?"

"Yeah." Ed looked around at the room he was in. It was the same room as usual, and light streamed in from the window behind him. "How long have I been out?"

"Since yesterday. They said you were out for a while last time, too."

Ed nodded as he sat up. "Yeah."

"They also said you didn't remember me last time."

"No, I didn't."

"I wonder why you didn't forget me this time."

Ed smiled at his brother. "I swore I wouldn't forget you again." Ed looked around the room, spotted his clothes, and got dressed. "Anyway, what now? I mean, it's not like we can go anywhere…"

"Well, we'll just have to be helpful around here. We really do owe these people a lot, brother."

Ed sat back down and looked out the window, to where a bunch of people his age were playing basketball. "Yeah…"

"So, you remember now?"

Ed started at this voice from the doorway and looked up. Scott was leaning against the doorframe.

"Of course I do," Ed muttered.

"Good. The professor's going to be busy for the next few days, which means you're gonna have to wait for this little mystery to be solved."

Ed glared at Scott, not as much because of the bad news as because something about him just pissed Ed off. The older man simply shrugged and turned to leave. "If you're bored, then go be social for once in your life. There's plenty of people to talk to."

----------------

"Why do you think this is happening?" Bobby asked as he tossed a ball back onto the nearby basketball court. The kid who caught it shouted out a thanks before going back to the game.

Ed shrugged. "Beats me. I guess it could be worse, though."

"Yeah? You're taking this pretty well, Ed," Rogue said from the other side of Bobby.

"My life's been full of disappointments. If I let everything that goes wrong bother me, then I'll probably go insane."

"You know, I think we've all known that feeling at one point or another," Rogue said. "Just about everyone here has been disappointed by someone."

Ed pulled his legs up onto the wall on which the three of them sat. "I never knew what it was like to be hated for your abilities until I joined the military."

"It's kind of weird," Al added. He was standing on the ground next to Ed, his shoulders even with where the others were perched. "We've always been on the side that does the persecuting. I can't help wondering what it would be like if people back home had been more tolerant."

Ed sighed. "It would have happened either way, Al. Religious arguments are just an easy excuse for war."

"What was that?"

Ed started and nearly fell off the wall. He'd forgotten that Bobby and Marie (I KNOW HER REAL NAME NOW!) were sitting right next to them. "N-nothing, just some issues from back home…"

"Well, yeah, but you mentioned w-" Marie's sentence was interrupted by an explosion that took out a portion of the building behind the basketball court, accompanied by a shriek of horror. This time, all three teens nearly fell off the wall.

"What happened?!" came a shout from behind them. Scott and Storm came running up, seeming to take in the scene quickly. Ed smoothly dropped to the ground as the two adults approached one of the kids who had been playing basketball. She seemed more terrified than the rest.

"W-we were playing basketball, and I missed and it hit the wall, and i-it just exploded! I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry, that's happened to all of us," Storm said.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. Everyone's all right, and we can fix this easily."

Scott rolled his eyes, a gesture that went unnoticed by all. "That's easy for you to say. Oh well, I guess I'll just call the… Ed, what are you doing?"

Ed had made his way over to the collapsed section of the building, and he now looked back with a blank face before bringing his hands together. "Fixing the wall."

"You can fix this?" Storm asked.

In response, Ed placed his hands on the rubble on the ground, causing the usual light to emit from the stone. A moment later, the wall was completely reconstructed, and Ed leaned against it, a smug smirk on his face.

"Well, that's something I haven't seen before," Storm remarked as she approached the wall. "It looks exactly the same."

Scott looked at Ed's face, turned pointedly away and began walking away from the area. "Yeah, it's impressive," Ed heard him mutter. He smiled.

"Thanks, Ed," Storm said before walking off as well. Ed watched her go for a moment before walking back to the wall. The girl who had exploded it gave Ed a grateful smile before they went back to their game.

"That's pretty cool," Marie said as Ed stepped on Al's outstretched hands and climbed back onto the wall. "Too bad you aren't staying here permanently, otherwise we could get away with so much…"

Ed laughed evilly at that. "And you think I'd assist you in your petty little games? Waugh!"

Al pushed his brother back up onto the wall, letting go of the leg he had pulled on as he did so. "Jeez, brother, you're acting like a moron."

"And that gives you the right to try and kill me?!" Ed shouted, pulling his legs up out of Al's reach as best he could. "What are you laughing at?" he snapped at Bobby and Marie.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Ed sighed and rolled his eyes. "And people wonder why I don't hang out with people my age," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

Ed shrugged.

"Um, anyway, you said something about war?" Marie asked.

Ed gave a slight nod. "Our country's been at war since before we were born. Nothing new and exciting there."

"Okay…"

Ed realized that he hadn't answered their question, but he ignored that. There was no way he'd tell them about the fate of his country. No way at all.

--------------

Yeah. Now to update the like 20 other stories that need to be updated. -sigh-


	8. blargh

Okay, guys, I have no idea where I'm going with this story right now

Okay, guys, I have no idea where I'm going with this story right now. I do have a few ideas for later on, but for now, I don't have _anything_ to go off of for the next chapter or two.

But because I like this story so much (even though I haven't touched it in like a year, I really do like it) I refuse to give up. That's why I'm opening this fic up to suggestions. Is there something you'd like to see Ed do? Is there some bad guy I've probably never heard of but would look up and research anyway that you want introduced? Should I invent some school dance to make Ed feel awkward and provide Al an opportunity to angst about his lack of a body (I do not want to do this, but I'm starting to get desperate…)? It's up to you guys. I seriously have no idea what to do next.

Rules: No romance, no… aw, heck, I can't think of anything right now. If I don't like something, I'll just ignore it.


End file.
